U. of Vermont Loosens Ties to Radio Station That Airs Limbaugh Show

By Peter Schmidt

The University of Vermont's interim president, John Bramley, has rejected requests from faculty groups that the university cut its sports-broadcasting ties to a local AM radio station to protest its airing of Rush Limbaugh's nationally syndicated show.

In a memorandum issued on Tuesday, Mr. Bramley did say, however, that WVMT, which pays the university for the right to broadcast men's hockey and women's basketball games, will no longer be allowed by the university to call itself the "Voice of the Catamounts" (in reference to Vermont's mascot) or in any way imply that the institution endorses its programming.

The university's Faculty Senate and Faculty Women's Caucus issued statements this month urging the institution to sever ties with WVMT in response to Mr. Limbaugh's recent use of the terms "slut" and "prostitute" to describe Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University law student who testified before Congress about wanting access to birth control under Georgetown's health-insurance plan.

The Faculty Senate's resolution argued that Mr. Limbaugh's statements conflicted with the university's standards, while the Women's Caucus said the university should not be connected to a broadcaster of shows that "undermine gender equality and respect for women" and thereby "contribute to gender discrimination and gender violence."